Related Links: South Africa's Sasol Moves on New Petrochemical Project in Louisiana Gas-Fired Projects Are Gaining Momentum Egypt’s Carbon Holdings Ltd. has signed a $600-million agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Drake & Scull International (DSI) for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of utilities and off-site facilities at the $6-billion Tahrir Petrochemical Project, 40 kilometers south of the city of Suez, at the head of the Suez Canal.DSI joins several other companies that already have secured contracts with Carbon Holdings for the construction of the petrochemicals complex, expected to break ground in 2015 following a financial close by the end of
Related Links: EPA's information on New Source Performance Standards for New Powerplants Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute List of CCS projects being planned, under developoment, or completed Two recent projects to capture and store carbon emissions from large coal-fired powerplants have had very different outcomes: One was completed this spring and is undergoing testing and commissioning; the other is months behind schedule and way over budget.The Boundary Dam project in Saskatchewan went up relatively smoothly, although there were challenges during the construction phase, says SaskPower President and CEO Robert Watson. But the Kemper County carbon capture and storage (CCS)
Photo Courtesy Black and Veatch Utilities, which based storage sites on national repository plan, are now adding capacity. Related Links: U.S. Nuclear Plants Provide Market Niche for Waste Disposal System Providers Cask Storage For Spent Fuel As the 21st century dawned, "nuclear renaissance" was a popular catchphrase. But current trends suggest that renaissance, if it occurs, will be in the market for engineers and contractors providing services to decommission nuclear powerplants and build storage for their spent fuel. In 2000, 104 power reactors were operating in the U.S., and new growth beckoned. In 2013, four of that fleet were retired,
Image Courtesy of Deepwater Horizon Study Group The blowout preventer's blind shear ram, intended as a fail-safe component, instead sliced through pipe and triggered oil spill. Related Links: U.S. Chemical Safety Board: Macondo Blowout and Explosion CSB Video: BOP Failure Scenario U.S. CSB Report: Explosion and Fire at the Macondo Well: Volume 1 U.S. CSB Report: Explosion and Fire at the Macondo Well: Volume 2 A new Deepwater Horizon disaster report, released on June 5, found that the blowout preventer (BOP), designed to shut off the flow of oil and gas from the Macondo well, "failed to seal the well
Image Courtesy of Florida Power & Light Co. New Units Turkey Point 6 and 7, in the foreground of the rendering, would add 2200 MW of capacity by 2022 or 2023. Related Links: Pricetag for Florida Power & Light's Upgrades Rising 27 Percent Turkey Point spec sheet (FPL) With the unanimous approval of the state's Siting Board, a project to add two nuclear reactors to a South Florida powerplant has passed a major milestone. Since the project was proposed in 2006, it has survived the 2007-08 financial crisis, the flight from nukes after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, intense environmental scrutiny,
Photo Courtesy of Principle Power Latest round of DOE funds earmarked for siting, construction and installation. Related Links: U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Purveyors Gaining Ground Offshore N.J. Wind-Farm Developer Will Challenge State Rejection Clemson Facility to Drive New Grid, Wind-Energy Research Three offshore wind-energy producers have received the nod from the U.S. Dept. of Energy to construct demonstration projects off both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The projects, which will receive up to $47 million each in DOE funds, were among seven projects selected in December 2012 to receive $4 million each to demonstrate design, engineering and permitting for their
Related Links: Report: Global Market for Geothermal Heats Up Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam Prompts Safety Concerns Djibouti and Ethiopia are developing new geothermal power capacities that are intended to enable them meet increasing demand for electricity and enhance their sustainable-energy portfolio.The World Bank has provided details about its contractor prequalification procedure for the drilling of four full-size geothermal production wells in Djibouti, while Icelandic powerplant builder Reykjavik Geothermal says it hopes to commence its $2-billion Corbetti Geothermal Power Project in Ethiopia in July.The World Bank, one of the financiers of the $31-million Djibouti Geothermal Power Project, which is being developed
Related Links: Apple Apparently Moving Away From the Grid To Power Its Data Center in North Carolina Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signs bill to provide manufacturers with power tax cut After converting an abandoned manufacturing plant originally built for solar-panel manufacturer First Solar Inc., Apple Inc. has started shipping sapphire glass from its new production site in Mesa, Ariz. The facility's revival and ongoing construction continue after months of political maneuvering, the price collapse of solar panels and the subsequent fire sale to save the multimillion-dollar development.Apple is unwilling to disclose much about the plant's output, but technology blogs and
Related Links: Pipeline Bursts Heat Up Safety Questions Over Keystone XL Engineer Blows Whistle on Canada Pipeline Inspections Canada's National Energy Board released its final audit report on Trans- Canada's pipeline management system on April 24. NEB found the company to be in non-compliance with risk-assessment and hazard-identification regulations, monitoring and maintenance protocols, internal audits, inspections and management review.The setback to TransCanada's effort to secure approval to build a major new pipeline segment came less than a week after the U.S. State Dept. delayed, until after the November elections, its decision on construction permitting for the last leg of the
Related Links: Russia Moving To Expand Global Nuclear Power Market Share Nuclear Resurgence Dims Due to Rising Costs, Low Demand Additional nuclear powerplant shutdowns will make it harder for the United States to meet its climate goals, a new policy brief from the nonprofit Center for Climate and Energy Solutions concludes.Further, more retirements could lead to more widespread blackouts, similar to those seen in the Northeast during 2014's polar vortex, said Bill Mohl, president of Entergy Wholesale Commodities, a division of Entergy Corp., on April 28.Since October 2012, four power companies have said they will retire five nuclear reactors earlier
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